Introduction
The plans and projects outlined in this annual review illustrate the crucial role the partnership continues to play in inspiring revitalization efforts in communities across Georgia.
Since 2013, the Georgia Downtown Renaissance Partnership has supported over 70 cities across Georgia with community-driven planning and design. With support from partners including the Georgia Municipal Association (GMA), Georgia Cities Foundation (GCF), and UGA Carl Vinson Institute of Government, the partnership employs programs like the Renaissance Strategic Vision and Planning (RSVP) process, the Georgia Downtown Renaissance Fellowship, and Targeted Design Assistance to support partner communities and enhance economic development throughout Georgia. In 2024, major projects undertaken by the partnership included the Carrollton RSVP masterplan, a hybrid RSVP design studio for Fort Oglethorpe and Catoosa County, and Downtown Renaissance Fellowships in Augusta and Fitzgerald. The partnership also provided specialized design assistance to Cornelia, Hinesville, Warner Robins, Cordele, Baxley, St. Marys, Bainbridge, and Warrenton. Institute design and planning staff also provided design support for the 2024 cohort of Young Gamechangers in Valdosta.
70 Community Partners 2013-2024
View the Plan
https://issuu.com/rsvpstudio/docs/carrolton2024
RSVP plans capture a community’s vision for the future and provide the steps necessary to reach that vision. Driven by a robust public input process, RSVP plans help local governments prioritize top issues and establish a consensus around what must be achieved for a community to realize its potential. With the support of GMA and GCF, 25 RSVP plans have been completed across the state.
25 With the support of GMA and GCF, 25 RSVP plans have been completed across the state.
Scan the QR code to View the full 165-page Carrollton Renaissance Strategic Vision and Plan.
Parklet
The transformation of this area along Bradley Street showcases the power of community-driven change. What began as a simple idea for a loading zone and parklet in the Carrollton RSVP quickly gained momentum. Within weeks, a new parklet at Local Ties brewery was constructed, inspiring neighboring businesses to reimagine their own street front spaces.
EXISTING: This image of Bradley Street shows three parallel parking spots at Local Ties brewery, two travel lanes, and an approximately nine-foot striped pick-up/drop-off area in front of the Amp.
PROPOSED: This concept shows short term interventions to improve Bradley Street. This design shows the striped area at the Amp designated as a loading zone to help service downtown businesses. A compact parklet replaces the parallel parking spots by Local Ties.
IMPLEMENTED: Completed in August 2023, the parklet at Local Ties has increased seating capacity and sparked demand for more parklets.
Infill
This bird’s-eye rendering shows a model mixed-use infill building at US27 and Alabama Street, creating a gateway to downtown. With elements like active storefront retail, wide sidewalks, and hidden internal parking, this concept offers a template for developers to transform this key site.
Amp Alley
The vision for Amp Alley grew from the community’s appreciation of the Amp as the premier downtown event space. Local leaders have embraced plans that transform a steep bank into an inviting stepped plaza, connecting an existing park to surrounding businesses. Outdoor dining and other amenities further enhance this vibrant downtown destination.
EXISTING: This image shows existing conditions along Amp Alley at Carrollton’s downtown amphitheater park. The steep bank on the left separates this pedestrian area from the park. The building on the right is a historic stable obscured with inappropriate vinyl siding.
EVENING VIEW
PROPOSED: This concept transforms the steep bank into a stepped plaza. The restored stable on the right could serve as the ideal location for a food hall or similar business. The concept shows Amp Alley activated with movable tables and chairs. Exciting features pictured in the Amp park area include a splash pad, howling wolf play structure, and a slide connecting to the parking deck.
CARROLLTON: RENAISSANCE STRATEGIC VISION AND
Hybrid RSVP Design Studio
Hutcheson Medical Center Redevelopment Plan
The master plan for the former Hutcheson Medical Center emerged from a collaborative, multidisciplinary design studio at UGA CED and the Lamar Dodd School of Art.
With support from partners including GMA, GCF, and the Lyndhurst Foundation, the Georgia Downtown Renaissance Partnership has a strong track record in Northwest Georgia. After delivering the 2022 Fort Oglethorpe RSVP, the UGA Institute of Government began assisting Catoosa County with plans to reimagine the 33-acre Hutcheson Medical Center site. Located on a hilltop overlooking historic Fort Oglethorpe’s Barnhardt Circle and the Chickamauga Battlefield, this prime property has the potential to significantly expand residential, dining, and entertainment options in the heart of Fort Oglethorpe.
In 2024, the UGA Institute of Government, UGA College of Environment and Design, and the Lamar Dodd School of Art collaborated to develop a vision for this landmark site. Using elements from the RSVP planning process, 47 students explored adaptive reuse concepts for the 300,000-square-foot 1950s medical complex and historic 1904 post hospital. Guided by input from 1,221 residents, student teams reimagined the area as a lively mixed-use development, integrating housing, retail, and entertainment while ensuring alignment with community goals and economic sustainability.
Under UGA professors James Schulte and Catherine Trugman, two studios produced designs that re-envision the former hospital complex and surrounding grounds as a vibrant mixed-use development, with a diverse mix of housing, retail, and entertainment options. Final concepts were presented to community partners and stakeholders in April 2024.
Augusta
2024 SUMMER FELLOWSHIP
Since 2013, the Georgia Downtown Renaissance Fellowship has created 30 plans for communities statewide by pairing UGA students with local partners.
As part of the 2024 Augusta Downtown Renaissance Fellowship, student designer Garrison Taylor collaborated with the Downtown Development Authority of Augusta (DDA) to help inform and expand downtown redevelopment. Taylor’s designs focused on streetscape improvements along Reynolds Street to enhance pedestrian connectivity and safety and link Augusta’s historic downtown with the Savannah River. Additional concepts addressed chronic vacancy with façade designs that encourage reinvestment.
GARRISON TAYLOR
The Georgia Downtown Renaissance Fellowship pairs student designers from the UGA’s CED with community partners to address design challenges over the course of a 12-week summer fellowship. Fellows hone their design expertise under the direction and oversight of full-time design and planning staff. Since 2013, 30 Georgia Downtown Renaissance Fellowship plans have been created for communities throughout the state. Augusta and Fitzgerald were selected to take part in the 2024 Georgia Downtown Renaissance Fellowship. https://issuu.com/rsvpstudio/docs/augusta2024
With the support of GMA and GCF, 30 Summer Fellowships have been completed across the state. Augusta, Baxley, Buena Vista, Chamblee, Chatsworth, Colquitt, Cornelia, Dahlonega, Elberton, Fitzgerald, Gainesville, Greensboro, Hapeville, Holly Springs, Jesup, Lilburn, Lookout Mountain, McDonough, McRae-Helena, Milledgeville, Monroe, Newnan, Porterdale, Richmond Hill, Statesboro, Toccoa, Trenton, and Tyrone.
View the Plan
Scan the QR code to View the full 72-page 2024 Augusta Fellowship plan, developed with the assistance and oversight of DDA Executive Director Margaret Woodard.
Fitzgerald
2024 SUMMER FELLOWSHIP
Since 2013, the Georgia Downtown Renaissance Fellowship has created 30 plans for communities statewide by pairing UGA students with local partners.
The Fitzgerald Downtown Renaissance Fellowship grew from Fitzgerald’s involvement in the PROPEL rural development program, led by UGA’s Institute of Government and funded by the USDA with UGA Foundation support. Thanks to PROPEL, GMA, and GCF, the 2024 fellowship was provided at no cost to the community. Fitzgerald originally took part in the Georgia Downtown Renaissance Fellowship program in 2014. Student fellow T. Clark Stancil developed the plan with then-Community Development Director Cam Jordan. A decade later, city leaders again partnered with Stancil, now a Creative Design Specialist at the Institute of Government, to create new design concepts supporting small businesses and future downtown growth. Fitzgerald’s 2024 fellowship reunited local leaders with the UGA Institute of Government design team to guide the next decade of downtown development. Working with city officials, residents, and the Fitzgerald-Ben Hill County Development Authority, the fellowship plan proposed streetscape enhancements and façade designs to support small business owners and help revitalize downtown.
T. CLARK STANCIL, Fellowship Program Coordinator
Targeted Design Assistance
Targeted design assistance provides affordable, customized solutions for community partners. These smaller-scale projects address locally-identified issues ranging from façade designs to more comprehensive redevelopment concepts.
Targeted design assistance offers affordable, tailored solutions to community partners. GCF and GMA help to offset the costs of these services. In 2024, the partnership provided targeted design assistance to the cities of Cornelia, Hinesville, Warner Robins, Cordele, Valdosta, Baxley, St. Marys, Bainbridge, and Warrenton. These smaller scale projects range from façade designs to more sweeping park plans and redevelopment concepts.
In 2024, Institute of Government design and planning staff developed concepts for a recently acquired
parcel of land adjacent to Cornelia’s historic depot. Local leaders envision this area as a signature community event space. Institute design staff created plans and renderings for a downtown amphitheater, expanded multiuse trails, and an inclusive playground area. These designs were incorporated into an updated version of the city’s 2022 Georgia Downtown Renaissance Fellowship plan, available in full at the following address: https://issuu.com/rsvpstudio/docs/cornelia2024
EXISTING: This image shows existing conditions at Cornelia’s recently acquired property. Former rail spurs on-site will connect to a nearby rail-to-trail system.
EXISTING
Hinesville
Institute design staff developed a number of options for Hinesville’s Independence Park. The concepts on this spread illustrate both lighter-touch improvements to the existing linear park as well as a more expansive long-term vision for the space.
This initial design concept includes liberty garden and a history walk through the site. This concept would be the most inexpensive and readily implementable of the three proposed concepts.
Cordele Façade Design
Renovating these neglected buildings along 7th Street, downtown Cordele’s most prominent corridor, could bring new businesses and energy downtown. This concept shows two properties painted and repaired as needed. The property on the left, 105 7th Street, is shown with two distinct leasable storefronts with upper story lofts or lodging units. Once planed for demolition, this design shows the property on the right transformed into a semi-enclosed food truck event space.
For information about the Georgia Downtown Renaissance Partnership, PLEASE CONTACT:
UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA INSTITUTE OF GOVERNMENT
DANNY BIVINS
Senior Public Service Associate
Phone: (706) 583-0856
Email: dbivins@uga.edu
201 N. Milledge Avenue
Athens, GA 30602
https://cviog.uga.edu/services/community-planningresilience/community-planning-development.html
GEORGIA MUNICIPAL ASSOCIATION and the GEORGIA CITIES FOUNDATION
CINDY EIDSON
Managing Director
Email: ceidson@gacities.com
Phone: (678) 686-6207
CHRIS HIGDON
Manager, Community Development
Email: chigdon@gacities.com
Phone: (678) 651-1018